BILL NUMBER: ACR 121	CHAPTERED  02/22/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   26
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   FEBRUARY 22, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   FEBRUARY 16, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 16, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 16, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 11, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Villaraigosa and Baugh
   (Principal coauthors:  Senators Burton and Johnson)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aanestad, Ackerman, Alquist, Aroner,
Ashburn, Bates, Bock, Brewer, Briggs, Calderon, Campbell, Cardoza,
Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Davis, Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Frusetta, Gallegos, Granlund, Havice, Hertzberg,
House, Jackson, Keeley, Kuehl, Leach, Lempert, Leonard, Longville,
Lowenthal, Machado, Maddox, Maldonado, Margett, Mazzoni, McClintock,
Migden, Nakano, Oller, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Papan, Pescetti,
Romero, Runner, Shelley, Soto, Steinberg, Strom-Martin, Thompson,
Thomson, Torlakson, Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman,
Wright, and Zettel)

                        FEBRUARY 7, 2000

   Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 121--Relative to the
Sesquicentennial Anniversary of California's Admission into the
Union.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 121, Villaraigosa.  Sesquicentennial Anniversary of California'
s Admission into the Union.
   This measure would officially honor the sesquicentennial
anniversary of California's statehood, and would encourage the people
of the state to celebrate with events paying tribute to California's
history.




   WHEREAS, September 9, 2000, marks the 150th anniversary of
California's statehood; and
   WHEREAS, California's history began long before its admission into
the Union; and
   WHEREAS, A mythical, exotic island named "California" first
appeared in the 16th century Spanish novel, Las Sergas de Esplandian;
and
   WHEREAS, Explorers sought out this beautiful "island" close to the
"Terrestrial Paradise" near the Indies; and
   WHEREAS, On September 28, 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a
Portuguese navigator sailing under the Spanish flag, entered what is
now San Diego Bay, and was followed in later years by numerous other
explorers, including Sir Francis Drake, Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno,
and Sebastian Vizcaino, exploring what is now the coastline of
California; and
   WHEREAS, The rich resources, fair climate, and natural beauty of
the region lured subsequent exploration and colonization attempts;
and
   WHEREAS, For thousands of years, the area had been the exclusive
domain of numerous indigenous tribes with rich cultures and belief
systems, and unique languages and customs; and
   WHEREAS, After years of colonization, most of these tribes were
decimated by disease or subjugation; and
   WHEREAS, Spain colonized California in the 1760's and under the
leadership of Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra established
presidios, missions, and pueblos; and
   WHEREAS, In 1822 Mexico gained independence from Spain, making
California a Mexican province; and
   WHEREAS, The province's remoteness from Mexico helped foster
political, civil, and military instability in California; and
   WHEREAS, On May 13, 1846, the United States went to war with
Mexico over border disputes; and
   WHEREAS, At Sonoma in June of 1846, a group of American settlers,
led by William B. Ide, staged the "Bear Flag Rebellion," declaring
California to be a republic independent of Mexico; and
   WHEREAS, In July 1846, the American flag was raised at Monterey by
Commodore John D. Sloat, and at San Francisco by Commander John B.
Montgomery; in Sonoma, Lieutenant Joseph Warren Revere ended the
brief Bear Flag Rebellion by unfurling Old Glory in its stead; and
   WHEREAS, The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2,
1848, formally ceding California to the United States of America;
and
   WHEREAS, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma
on January 24, 1848, prompting the famous California Gold Rush,
which hastened the migration of thousands of people from all over the
world; and
   WHEREAS, In 1849, while Californians were waiting for Congress to
vote on an Act for Admission, citizens wasted no time in forming
their own government; and
   WHEREAS, On June 3, 1849, General Bennett Riley, acting as
Governor, called for a Constitutional Convention to be held on
September 1, 1849, to form a government; and
   WHEREAS, Most of the delegates were United States citizens and
native-born Californians, but there were also five foreign-born
members from Switzerland, Scotland, France, Spain, and Ireland; and
   WHEREAS, Forty-eight delegates met at the Constitutional
Convention at Colton Hall in Monterey, and finished their work on
October 13, 1849; and
   WHEREAS, The Constitution of the State of California was adopted
by the people on November 13, 1849, by a vote of 12,872 to 811; and
   WHEREAS, The Constitution, among other things, set forth the Bill
of Rights, prohibited slavery, provided for a public school system,
limited state indebtedness, gave married women the right to own
property, required publishing of laws in English and Spanish, and
designated Pueblo de San Jose as the state capital; and
   WHEREAS, The Legislature convened at San Jose on December 15,
1849, and proceeded to divide the state into 25 counties and provide
for taxation, courts, city incorporation, and criminal and civil
procedures; and
   WHEREAS, Nearly 10 months after the state Constitution was
adopted, President Millard Fillmore signed the Act for Admission
admitting California into the Union, on September 9, 1850; and
   WHEREAS, In the early years of statehood, several cities
maneuvered successfully, if only temporarily, to relocate the state
capital to their locales, including Vallejo, Benicia, and San
Francisco; and
   WHEREAS, Sacramento was chosen to be the permanent capital on
February 25, 1854; and
   WHEREAS, A magnificent Capitol building, designed by M.F. Butler
and Reuben Clark, has housed the Legislature since 1869, and later
the building was methodically restored from 1976 to 1981; and
   WHEREAS, Previous Legislatures exhibited great foresight and
courage throughout California's 150 years as a state, establishing
public schools, colleges and universities, granting property rights
to women, instituting the direct primary system, giving voters the
power to recall government officials, building the state highway
system, giving women the right to vote prior to passage of the 19th
Amendment, imposing limits on child labor, establishing a state parks
system, allowing state assistance to the disabled, mandating
construction standards for schools, authorizing the State Water
Project, establishing a state civil service system, ending school
segregation before passage of similar federal laws, and passing open
meeting laws, fair housing laws, environmental protections, and many
other laws; and
   WHEREAS, California has become the world leader in many areas,
including, among others, computer technology, agriculture, movie
production, aerospace, and medicine; and
   WHEREAS, California's reputation as the Golden State attracts
tourists and immigrants from all over the globe, establishing
California as the most ethnically diverse and the most populous state
in the Union; and
   WHEREAS, The Legislature recognizes the important contributions
made by California citizens of all ethnic backgrounds; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature officially honors the
sesquicentennial anniversary of California's statehood, and
encourages the people of the state gto celebrate with events paying
tribute to California's history; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the California State Library and the Governor of
California.
